Benjamins Yarn

When it comes to getting your message out to the media, there are two forces at work. The first is the diversity of media outlets that exist today. In addition to the mainstream print, television, and radio media, there are now millions of websites that publish news as text, audio, and video. The second force at work is the media’s insatiable appetite for content. In an era of 24/7 cable news channels and Internet access, there is a never-ending demand for news. Both of these factors work for you as you design a plan for press release distribution.

Unfortunately, balancing the media’s ongoing need for content is the exploding growth of competition among those wanting to get their message out. Everyone from the President of the United States to the most recently launched website is competing for airtime, column inches, click-throughs, and blog entries. There’s nothing more frustrating than to carefully craft news releases, only to find they don’t even create a blip on the media’s radar. Today’s competition demands that, in order to get your message out, you have to adopt a sophisticated strategy when it comes to press releases and press release distribution.

The path of least resistance - and often the path of greatest success - is to engage the services of a PR service or news release services. They have access to professional writers and reporters who are well versed in the art of creating an attention-grabbing press release. News release services also have extensive media contact databases, which means that your release can reach hundreds of thousands of members of the media. A PR service can also distribute news releases through multiple channels, such as radio, fax, and email. Conversely, it can personalize and target press releases to a specific segment of the media. Most importantly, news release services have triggers that can make press releases available online at a moment’s notice. This capability can be very important to editors, who rely on established press release distribution networks to gather information about new products, services, business relationships, and other announcements before their competitors.

If you choose to write and distribute your own press releases, keep these tips in mind:

Make it Newsworthy: Regardless of how well-written your news release might be, it won’t get picked up if it’s not newsworthy. Not every topic is earth shattering, but help it along by hooking it to current events. Editors are always looking for a new angle on a current story.

Make it Well-Written: A poorly written news release will end up in any editor’s trash bin. Make sure the headline commands attention and that the text follows the “Five Ws” - Who, What, When, Where, and Why. Editors should only have to read the first paragraph to understand your point. Above all, don’t forget to run a spell check and grammar check. If you’re not a good writer, hire a PR service and have them write your press releases for you.

Distribute it Properly: If you’re announcing an event two weeks ahead of time, don’t bother sending your press releases to magazines that go to press more than a month before they hit the newsstands. If your news releases are specific to a certain industry, don’t waste your time sending them to consumer publications. Above all, don’t simply post it on your website and hope that the media finds it. A press release distribution service is well worth the money it can disseminate your news as broadly or as narrowly as you wish.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web.
Visit this Communications Website and Majon’s Communications directory

China’s media is booming creating opportunities for marketing-savvy businesses. But many companies have little understanding of how to harness the power of the media in the world’s most populous country.

The following are ten points to consider when embarking on a media relations strategy in the Chinese market and identifying with the Chinese media.

1. Understand cultural differences.

Be sensitive to local communities and understand the complex and varied structures of the Chinese media. They are not uniform and often controlled at a local, provincial and national level. Improve your cultural literacy by understanding the culture and history of those you’re doing business with. Respect these differences and don’t impose your own values and perceptions on how the local media should treat you. Never make assumptions, do your research.

2. Use a local spokesperson.

Depending on the news value of the story, you will have a better chance of gaining media coverage the more Chinese you make your message. Using a local spokesperson will give you greater credibility. For example in PR campaigns for Nokia and IBM in China, they use local Chairmen who are Chinese because they are well respected and have deep
Chinese roots.

3. Know your point of difference - what you do in your own backyard you also have to do in new markets.

Find out what makes you or your service or product unique in the Chinese marketplace? How will it stand out from the competition. In the past cultural differences have been used as an excuse for dubious practices not acceptable back home. This has changed. Be accountable as your actions will automatically be associated with your company’s offices regardless of their location.

4. Clarify your communication objectives?

What do you want to achieve? To inform or entertain? To provide information? To build a profile? To influence public opinion? Personal marketing? Marketing or launching a new product or service? How will cultural diversity and differing news values influence this? News values differ in China. Often issues will be reported one or two days later and not with the urgency or timeliness of the Western media. By understanding your objectives you are more able to set tasks to achieve them accurately and will gain a better understanding of the processes involved.

5. Define your target audience?

Who is your target audience? General public? Customers? Competitors? Suppliers? What age are they, what level of education, what beliefs and values, geographical location, how do they use the local Chinese media? How credible is the media your target audience uses? Does it still have credibility even though it is controlled? The media is evolving and becoming more respected. Never assume similarities between similar markets in different countries, do your research, this not only helps define your objectives but offers cultural insight.

6. Identify the best channels of communication.

What is the best way to reach your target audience? TV, Radio, Internet, newspapers - local or national? Do your homework on how news is structured and gathered. Investigate who is reporting on what. Find out the nuances. TV has the highest penetration, while the Internet is growing amongst younger Chinese. Each market will be different and it is important to be specific and focused on these individually as well as collectively.

7. What is your key message?

The media is becoming more competitive and market driven. They need readers and viewers to stay viable in the new economy. How can you make your message appealing and newsworthy? Distil what you want to say into three key points. Always check translations of media releases. Have them retranslated back into English to check for accuracy. Be careful with tenses and cultural influence particularly when using humour.

8. Build your case.

When building your case look for the China angle. What are the features, advantages and benefits of your message for your Chinese targets? What evidence do you have that is seen as credible and independent within their cultural belief system? Always use a local angle, even for an international venture.

9. What is the China hook?

What will make your message or news release stand out from the rest and appeal to the values of Chinese journalists? You are not successful in China until the local market tells you. Giving money to Chinese journalists is no longer acceptable. Use more legal and
ethical incentives such as providing transport, lunch or a gift or souvenir item. This isn’t to be used as a bribe however, rather a hook, something to capture their interest and should be mutually beneficial.

10. Develop long-term relationships with the media.

Visit and meet journalists face to face. Network, get to know them and involve them in the story. There is now a focus on the interactive brand experience. For example in one successful mobile phone campaign local journalists were involved in trialing the product prior to launch. They were asked for their feedback and engaged proactively in its development providing them with ownership of the product and subsequent story. Relationships and personal connections, or guanxi, are very important in China and especially so in cultivating good media contacts.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.
You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom’s blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com

Unique gifts, like naming a star after her, magic makeovers, and personalized items make a woman feel special. These types of gifts are perfect for any occasion and will always be remembered.

The most matchless gift is perhaps gifting her a real star of her own! StarWishing.com has more than ten thousand stars to choose from. You may select a sector and direction in the sky and choose a star for her from there, to be named after her. Along with this, she gets a deed proving her ownership of the star, a star map to point out the location of her star, and a booklet containing information on her star. All this for under $50! The star will be catalogued using her name in subsequent astronomical gazettes.

For those less “starry eyed”, but nonetheless caring, there are many options available. Makeovers, for one, are exclusive gifts, since each makeover is done keeping in mind the qualities of a certain woman. Women can buy makeover coupons on several websites and give them to their mother, sister, or friends. But boyfriends and husbands, please remember, she may not appreciate any gift from you that hints she might need to change the way she looks!

A very suitable gift for all occasions, and all women, are real newspapers from the day they were born, or from the day of their wedding, or any other important day in their life. Websites like Surprise.com have many such gifts to choose from, all you need to do is visit the site and select a gift, and they will ship it to you for a nominal charge.

TheCherryMillShop.com, for example, has many inexpensive, whimsical items that will make her smile. Coke-crate shaped radio clocks, candy-dish shaped phones, and revolving musical merry-go-rounds are just a few of the numerous products they offer. This site retails such items at very reasonable prices.

Personalizing gifts also provides that special touch needed to show a woman that you care. Surprise.com has photo albums that can be personalized by engraving her name on it. Similarly, towels and blankets embroidered with her initials are another way of making her feel special.

A one of a kind gift has novelty and it conveys to a woman the message that she is unique. It makes her feel special, and shows that someone has put in a lot of effort to choose a gift that suits her and is meant just for her.

Gifts for Women provides detailed information about gifts for women, birthday gifts for women, Christmas gifts for women, and more. Gifts for Women is affiliated with Holiday Gift Baskets.

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